“Allow me to guide you to the room where the ring is. Please follow me.”
Shizun, his expression grave, led us to a door with a more elaborate lock than the other rooms.
“Mr. Elm, thank you for your guard duty.”
“Your words are too kind.”
Shizun spoke to the man standing before the door, then took a key from his pocket and opened the grand lock before entering.
“Now, please, everyone come in.”
We entered the room as he gestured. Once everyone was inside, the door shut with a loud bang. It seemed to have a mechanism that closed it automatically unless held open.
The room was entirely tiled in white, floor, walls, and ceiling. There was no furniture. The only adornment was a pillar that stretched into the center of the room.
“Wow!”
“Hmm, this is…”
Ena exclaimed at the sight, and Mitsuki narrowed her eyes.
In the center of the room, thin cylinders of the same shape extended from the floor and ceiling. Or rather, since the two pillars were identical, it would be clearer to say that a single pillar was broken in the middle, leaving a gap of several dozen centimeters.
However, what was strange was what came next. Between the pillars, where there should have been nothing, was a curtain of rainbow light. And as if to protect this rainbow curtain, four colorful Crystals floated around it.
Upon closer inspection, we could see shimmering particles of light emanating from the red, blue, yellow, and green Crystals, gathering in the gap between the pillars to form the rainbow wall. As everyone stared, captivated by the central pillar and the Crystals, Shizun spoke with pride.
“This pillar and these Crystals are the ‘Oath Barrier,’ which tests the qualifications of the household head. And beyond that rainbow curtain lies the ring that was foretold to be stolen, the ‘Ring of Immortality.'”
—The Hero Lord Arken, the first head of the Arken Family, known as the ‘Unshakable Fortress.’
He had mastered the essence of Barrier Magic and attained invulnerable defense. His barrier was impervious to any physical or magical attack, and he traversed countless battlefields with this absolute defense, returning from them all unscathed.
However, even this seemingly impenetrable barrier had a single flaw.
—Status ailments.
Even with his ironclad defense, he was not entirely resistant to status ailments like poison or paralysis. Monsters with high intelligence were rare but not unheard of. One such monster had discovered this weakness.
Under the guidance of a sentient monster, Arken was assailed with every imaginable status ailment: poison, paralysis, confusion, sleep, petrification. Yet, he endured. Even when he faltered from poison, his limbs numbed from paralysis, his perception dulled by confusion, or he slept while standing from slumber, or his body became immobile from petrification, his strong will to remain standing and endure the attacks never wavered.
But finally, when a certain status ailment struck him, the man who was supposedly invincible finally fell to his knees.
—Instant death.
That, even he, with his iron resolve, could not withstand. If one’s life is taken, even the greatest hero or the most valiant warrior has no choice but to fall.
It was a regret. If only he had resistance to death, he wouldn’t have met such an end. If only he had resistance to death, he wouldn’t have been outdone by such scoundrels. If only he had resistance to death, he wouldn’t have fallen here. If only he had resistance to death…
That strong will created a miracle. In the fleeting moments before his body, dying, became completely immobile, he poured his last magic power into his own ring.
The ring glowed black, and even after he fell to the ground and his body vanished, it remained there, untouched. The ring was delivered to his wife and children and is still lovingly protected by his descendants today as a testament to the great hero’s life.
“—And that, is the ‘Ring of Immortality’ passed down in my family, possessing absolute resistance to death.”
After his long explanation, Shizun took a breath, and his companions voiced their admiration. While there were many points to question if one listened too closely, it was not entirely outside the realm of a hero’s tale. Moreover, with the descendant present and the ring before them, the sense of awe was even greater.
“I understand about the ‘Ring of Immortality.’ But what is this ‘Oath Barrier’ you mentioned earlier?”
Mitsuki, the only one not outwardly moved by Shizun’s story, asked. Shizun nodded deeply.
“It is the Crystals and that light curtain. It would be best if you experienced it for yourselves. You may use any method you wish. Can you break through that barrier and retrieve the ring for me?”
At his words, Mitsuki’s cat ears twitched, and she cast a cold gaze at Shizun.
“You said any method is acceptable. You won’t go back on your word, will you?”
“Yes. Of course.”
Before Shizun’s reply had even finished.
“Hmph!”
Without any preamble, Mitsuki suddenly drew her sword. Though there was a slight distance to the pillar, it was no obstacle for Mitsuki. In the blink of an eye, Mitsuki’s beloved sword, ‘Moonshadow,’ flashed silver, approached the rainbow barrier, and…
“…I see.”
It was effortlessly deflected.
“Wh-what?!”
Ena, who knew Mitsuki’s fearsome power best, cried out in surprise. But Mitsuki herself was unperturbed.
“—Then.”
Seeing that a single attack could not break the defense, Mitsuki changed her target. Her next aim was not the barrier itself, but the Crystals that seemed to be creating it. Mitsuki’s next strike unerringly found its mark, and…
“Hooh…”
With a hard clink, it stopped. Even when Mitsuki pulled her sword back, the floating Crystal remained uninjured and unmoving. Finally, Mitsuki inexplicably struck the pillar, confirmed that it also sustained no damage, and sheathed her sword.
“Do you understand now?”
Seeing this, Shizun approached Mitsuki with a proud expression. Mitsuki twitched her cat ears in displeasure but replied calmly, showing no outward emotion.
“Yes. It is impressive. It seems this barrier cannot be broken by brute force.”
Mitsuki’s assessment was accurate. Mitsuki’s attacking power was second to none among the NPCs. Or rather, I could achieve higher attack power with a different approach, but it wouldn’t matter. Everything here were indestructible objects. They could not be broken.
“Yes. The only way to dispel this barrier is by using Barrier Magic.”
With that, Shizun stepped forward, replacing Mitsuki, and placed his hand on the red Crystal.
“Hah!”
With a sharp cry, blue light shot from his palm and struck the red Crystal directly. The Crystal, bathed in blue light, lost its radiance and turned black.
“The principle is simple. You simply need to blast each Crystal with Barrier Magic of the opposite attribute.”
As he spoke, Shizun sent red light towards the blue Crystal next to it. The moment the light reached it, the blue Crystal also lost its light, and simultaneously…
“Ah! The barrier…!!”
The rainbow barrier vanished.
“As you can see, if two of the four Crystals are deactivated, the barrier disappears. Now, the ring should be obtainable.”
Upon his words, everyone present focused their attention on the space between the pillars. Indeed, a jet-black ring rested on the pillar extending from the floor, between the two pillars.
“Th-this is the ‘Ring of Immortality,’ isn’t it?”
Ena, who was closest to the pillar, took the ring on behalf of everyone. As Ena gazed at the ring with an awestruck expression, I felt mischievous and gave her a warning.
“Don’t you dare drop it. I heard it’s worth about 3 million E if you sell it.”
“Th-three million!!”
Ena’s hand trembled with tension as she held the ring. …It seems I shouldn’t mention that we earned 80 million as prize money in the Subjugation Tournament.
“But isn’t this the proof of the household head? Shouldn’t you be wearing it?”
Sazahn, who seemed unfazed by the mention of money, asked. Shizun replied nonchalantly to Sazahn’s surprisingly sensible question.
“Ah. That is fine. Or rather, you are not supposed to wear it. Because… once you put it on, you can never take it off.”
At Shizun’s words, Ena, holding the ring, yelped and nearly dropped it. Sazahn couldn’t overlook this either.
“H-hey. Isn’t that cursed?”
Sazahn asked, looking unnervingly at Ena. But Shizun shook his head with a pleasant smile.
“No, no, of course not. It’s simply a sign of our ancestor’s kindness, so you won’t lose the ring you’ve equipped. Besides, they can take it off if you pay the appropriate fee at the church.”
“That’s definitely cursed!!”
Sazahn, uncharacteristically, retorted.
“S-Soma! Wh-what do I do with this…!”
Ena, her eyes welling up, pleaded for help. There’s nothing to do but put it back normally, but she seemed too panicked to think of it. Or perhaps, because it’s an expensive item, she’s hesitant to handle it carelessly. Seeing Ena’s unnecessary distress, Shizun said with a wry smile.
“You don’t need to be so scared. Even if it were cursed, you just can’t take it off once you put it on; it doesn’t do anything else harmful.”
Ena, who saw a godsend in Shizun’s rescue, enthusiastically agreed.
“Th-that’s right!! R-rather, it’s reassuring to have instant death resistance, isn’t it?!”
“Yes, it is… Ah, well, of course, you’ll be powerless against status ailments other than instant death.”
“……Huh?”
At the casually spoken words harboring a bad omen, Ena’s face lost color again.
“Well, you heard the story, didn’t you? Lord Arken could endure other status ailments, so he sacrificed his resistance to those other ailments to gain complete resistance to instant death. Ah, what a resolute person.”
While Shizun laughed gleefully, Ena’s face turned pale.
“Speaking of which, there’s a record of a past household head who accidentally touched a poisonous mushroom while wearing the ring. The poison wasn’t very potent, but it spread quickly, and no matter what they did, it couldn’t be cured, so it was quite a difficult situation.”
Shizun cackled. And Ena began to tremble uncontrollably.
“S-so, what happened to that household head?”
Sazahn asked on behalf of the stuttering Ena. To that, Shizun smiled kindly and replied,
“Fortunately, it seems the panic caused by the poison lasted only for a short while.”
“S-so, they were cured immediately…?”
Towards Ena, who brightened with hope, he replied with a perfect smile.
“Yes. They were immediately summoned to heaven.”
“Noooooooooooo!!!!”
Afterwards, we managed to calm down Ena, who was trembling like a stray Norai, with only 1 HP left, and returned the ring to the pillar. Once I took the ring from Ena’s hand, she looked at me with eyes that suggested a “Friendship greatly increased!!” text box might appear and shouted,
“Soma, you truly are my savior!”
She displayed her usual gullible nature, but that’s beside the point.
“Now then, I will close the barrier.”
Upon confirming the ring’s return, Shizun approached the Crystals.
“Activating the barrier is the reverse of what we just did. You send Magic Power of the same attribute as the Crystal into each Crystal.”
Shizun sent red magic into the red Crystal and blue magic into the blue Crystal. Then, the Crystals that had lost their light regained their radiance, and…
“Ah, the barrier…”
The rainbow curtain appeared between the pillars once more. The jet-black ring became invisible.
“I believe you understand now, but to open this ‘Oath Barrier,’ you must be able to handle at least two attributes of Barrier Magic. Therefore, obtaining the ring beyond this barrier is proof of a skilled Barrier Magic user, and by extension, proof of being the household head.”
Seeing us nod at his words, Shizun declared solemnly.
“And… my four children are still unable to dispel this barrier. My eldest son is fire, my eldest daughter is water, my second son is earth, and my second daughter is wind. Each has a preferred attribute, but that means they can only competently handle that one attribute.”
At this, Shizun’s face contorted in pain.
“As it stands, the one who first masters a second attribute among them will become the next head. For this reason, my children are desperately honing their skills, but it has led to strained relationships among them. It wouldn’t be surprising if one of them thought of stealing the ring before another sibling inherits it…”
Suddenly revealed, a conflict of blood. As we listened in stunned silence, Shizun made an abrupt move.
“This is the second reason I suspect an inside job. Without the ability to use Barrier Magic, one cannot obtain the ‘Ring of Immortality.’ And only I and my four children can use Barrier Magic. Therefore, please, I implore you all…”
Shizun suddenly dropped to his hands and knees, rubbing his forehead against the ground, and cried out.
“Please protect this ring!! And please, save my children from such a despicable crime!!”
…Huh? Was this supposed to be a rather serious event?
